A week in work outfits with Melbourne artist and designer, Alice Oehr

Japanese denim, designer collabs and sneakers.

Working in a creative role, it can be difficult to know how to dress for the day. Instead of having a set uniform of crisp white shirts and tailored black pants (as much as I love both), an ever-changing schedule means every morning requires a set of questions. Am I running around, or just sitting at my desk? Do I need to dress specifically for a project? And most importantly, will I be in the background of someone’s TikTok?

This week, Melbourne artist, designer and author-illustrator Alice Oehr takes us through a week in her busy life. Working out of a studio in Collingwood, Alice’s style is influenced by practicality (“I need to wear things I can get dirty and freely move around in”) and her love of “printed items and solid colours”.

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“I have always loved the silhouette of loose, oversized shapes, especially Japanese design, and I love the feel of wearing them too,” she tells me. Between meetings with publishers and studio clean-ups, Alice is preparing for NGV’s Teen Art Party this Saturday. Prepping her outfits ahead of time (a technique we’re fond of), Alice wrangled her studio mates Carla and Amber into documenting the outfits she’s worn and will be wearing for the remainder of the week. Read on to see what garments she’s gravitated to.

Monday

Today I’m pretty wrecked after working the last four days and nights at an art fair, so I’m getting dressed in a hurry. I have a lot of stock to unpack and organise, so I’m bearing in mind [that I’ll get] a bit dirty and [there will be] a lot of lifting things. The event space downstairs at my studio had a launch over the weekend so I’ll also be doing a clean of that.

I got this monogrammed Adidas zip-up in Paris last month ‘cos… well, I couldn’t resist. Red and pink is my favourite colour combo of all time. The matching shorts are waiting to make their debut when the weather gets warmer. For now, I’m wearing my old favourite jeans I got in Japan about seven years ago. Japanese jeans never need any alteration for me, they’re the best.

These white Air Max[es] are my most comfortable and favourite shoes and have been preened many times to *just* maintain the illusion of white. When I am tired and need a no-brainer outfit, I gravitate to wearing old favourite and comfortable things so it’s one less thing to think about. I wear the gold fang [necklace] every day, they were a 30th birthday present.

Tuesday

Today I’m excited for a nice sit down in the morning to get on top of online orders and admin. The day is beautiful so I’m taking some time to sit in my favourite courtyard at All Press and enjoy the sun. Back at the desk, I have an illustrated poster to create. It will be nice to do some drawing.

This afternoon I’m meeting up with my publishing team from Scribble in Brunswick, so I am wearing something a bit nicer than I normally would for just my computer. I will get to see the advance copy of my new kids’ book, so it’s kind of a special occasion. There is going to be a cake!

I got his little crochet shirt and tailored baggy pants at Beams in Tokyo earlier this year. I did something my mum always does (that I never do) and bought the pieces together to work as an outfit. Normally I just buy pieces I fall in love with and sometimes struggle to match (or mismatch) them together – but not this time!

I really gravitated towards the vintage blue and burgundy palette of the little shirt and I think pairing it with the burgundy shoes and handbag brings it home. I got the dunks in Tokyo too, and the little Marni bag on another holiday, very much on sale.

Wednesday

Today I’m steeling myself to unpack several hundred prints from the art fair over the weekend, and I know I need to wear something comfy. My photographer friend and studio mate, Amber, is going to shoot a bunch of the work, so we’ll do that early to [benefit] from the morning light. It’s a crisp morning and I’m doing a bit of business at the top, party at the bottom with my outfit. I don’t think it works that well but I’m tired.

My face and arms may need to feature in some of the pics, so I’m wearing my favourite Verner Tarot Shirt on it. My jacket is a P.A.M. x Sadie Laska artist collab with embroidered patches all over it, an item I have worn absolutely to death this last year; I just love the burgundy with fluro orange lining. The pants are from the same range and are perfect for filling up the pockets with the screwdrivers, tape measures and pens that I will inevitably need today.

Thursday

Today is a pretty relaxed day – yay! I have some online orders to pack and some design work to do, so it will be nice to sit down and basically just potter around the studio and talk the ears off my studio mates. The sun is SHINING and the vibe is really good, so I’m wearing one of my all-time favourite P.A.M. pieces that’s about eight years old now – a silk Sukajan jacket with embroidered patches. Something about the pink and aqua combo never gets old for me, and it makes me feel good whenever I wear it.

Under it is a tee from the same era, which has been pretty much washed within an inch of its life, and a pair of Frapbois baggy blue pants, which are tailored perfectly for a short person like me – thank you again, Japanese fashion.

Friday

Today I am running around, beginning to source some of the props for the NGV Teens Art Party tomorrow. I’m creating a giant still-life table with a breakfast scene that’s a subtle nod to some of Bonnard’s paintings. I will get the majority of fresh produce at the market in the morning, but I can make a start on it today. I’ve got a couple of objects to buy – egg cups, vases – and will pack the car with my ceramics collection which I store at the studio.

Given it’s Friday and I have plans tonight, I’m wearing a comfortable yet dressy enough outfit – another absolute favourite Verner shirt, which always gets a lot of compliments. The pants are the same as yesterday. I don’t wear much jewellery but I’m wearing a necklace of hand-blown glass beads by Kate Dansey and the usual P.A.M. fangs.

Saturday

Tonight I’ll be bumping in [and] then working at the NGV Teen Art Party, inspired by the Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi exhibition. Today, I’m running around sourcing an abundance of bread, cakes, fresh fruit and flowers – my small car will be filled to the brim. The table will be propped with teapots, vintage ceramics, glassware and napery to provide inspiration for guests of the event to create their own still-life paintings using watercolour pencils.

Making these tables is one of my favourite parts of my job! I’ll be floating around facilitating the workshop, but I have a feeling the teens will have a few things to teach me – they usually do. I’m excited to hang out with the participants, they always bring a great energy and get me excited about what I do. I don’t love wearing dresses or skirts, but when this Marni x Uniqlo collab came out last year (in my fave colour combo again), I knew I should invest for a special occasion.

Turns out that special occasion is tonight, as I think the print really speaks to the India Mahdavi patterns at the exhibition, with a nice painterly nod to Bonnard as well. I got these Marni sandals in Paris pre-pandemic and have worn them to death. This outfit is dressy enough for the party but will allow me to move. My tiny handbag is filled with pens, Blu Tack and scissors. Let’s go!